The Unknown 'Dunkirk' Dreamboat You're About To See Plenty Of

If you've treated yourself and been to see Dunkirk, arguably one of this year's best films, you'll know it is simply brimming with phenomenal actors. Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and - dare I say it - Harry Styles isn't half-bad either.

But there's one charming gent who, IMO, steals the show. I'm talking about Jack Lowden, whose piercing blue eyes were staring back at you from a cockpit for two hours while you sat transfixed in your seat.

Lowden stars opposite Hardy and plays Collins, the other British Spitfire pilot in Christopher Nolan's WWII epic. Even with a mask covering his face for much of the movie, a quick social media search confirms the young actor is leaving a lasting impression on Dunkirk audiences around the world.

But just who is this delightful human, and why haven't I seen literally everything he's ever been in?

Here's what we know about Jack Lowden

The rising star is a 6'1", 27-year-old Scotland native and has been acting since he was a teenager. He also grew up as a wannabe ballet dancer in Oxton, a small town in the Scottish Borders which he says is heavily devoted to "rugby and farming". How's that for the artsy outsider?!

While Dunkirk is his biggest role to date, Lowden's first feature film, '71, came out in 2014 and was an award-winning historical thriller.

In 2016 he starred in the BBC TV series War & Peace co-starring Lily James, and was also nominated for a BAFTA Scotland Award for his leading role in Tommy's Honour, starring alongside Sam Neill as his onscreen son in the 19th-century golf drama.

But before hitting the silver screen, Lowden trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, which quickly turned into a successful stage career.

"When I was at school I realised, maybe out of laziness, that that's what I could do," he told People of acting. "That's what I pursued. I saw one particular play when I was about 16, 17 called Black Watch," he added. "It was one of the best plays I'd ever seen, so from then on [I wanted to act]." After graduating in 2011, he was quickly cast in Black Watch.

In 2014, he starred in the West End in a production of Ghosts directed by Richard Eyre – winning an Olivier award for best supporting actor. He then appeared opposite British actress Kristin Scott Thomas at London's the Old Vic, in Sophocles' Electra.

According to The Independent, Lowden's love of the arts rubbed off on his younger brother Calum, who now dances as a first soloist for the Royal Swedish Ballet.

What's next for the star?

Next up, Lowden is starring as the iconic frontman of The Smiths, Morrissey, in England is Mine. The unauthorised Mark Gill-directed biopic focuses on the early years of the artist's life before he formed the rock band in 1982 with Johnny Marr.

A daunting task taking on such a polarising character, but Lowden assured Metro UK, "It was amazing. You can't be too aware all the time of any kind of responsibility, it's our interpretation of him."

There were only two weeks between the end of shooting England is Mine and the start of principal photography on Dunkirk - a fortnight that Lowden says was "spent trying to strip dye from my hair because everything had been dyed jet black. Even my eyelashes had to be sorted because we were doing Imax. I had to get them tinted three times."

From there, he will play an aspiring professional wrestler in Stephan Merchant's upcoming film Fighting With My Family, due out early next year.

He's also set to begin filming Mary Queen of Scots in the coming weeks, in which he'll play Lord Darnley opposite Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.

"It's been nuts," he told W magazine of his hectic schedule - not that he's complaining. "I hate chilling. I hate even the notion of chilling. I like doing stuff. Since I was 21, I have not been able to sleep past 9am; I just want to get up and do something. It's an inherent feeling of guilt, like 'You can't just sit on your arse.'"

If you weren't already a little obsessed by now, we give you Jack Lowden, having the most appropriate reaction to seeing Prince Harry in the flesh.

Jack, we can relate.

Jack Lowden and Harry Styles are greeted by Prince Harry at the 'Dunkirk' world premiere in London. Photo: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty

England is Mine opened in the UK this week. Check out the trailer below.

Charlotte Willis is whimn’s New York editor and writes about everything from breaking news and Trump’s latest tweet storm, to the weird and wonderful things happening in The City That Never Sleeps. Forever in search of a decent flat white to write home about, as well as NYC’s “best rooftop bar”, she can't get enough of the concrete jungle she now calls home. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter for #realnews.